The Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavadgita, or ‘Sacred Song’, holds an assured place among the world’s great scriptures. In fourteen hundred lines of verse, the relationship of man with God – and the intense joy of divine love – are celebrated, in a language that is precise and beautiful. The Gita is a tale of action, taking the form of a dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna on the eve of a battle. Krishna teaches the fearful Arjuna the need for action and the requirement that he – like all mankind – take his place in the world in love and faith. Only through the search for God and the Absolute will the true self be discovered. This edition of the Bhagavadgita offers the Sanskrit text as well as Radhakrishnan’s English translation and a commentary that has become a classic. His clear understanding of the profound wisdom contained within the Gita ensures an equally clear vision of its powerful and eternal message, one that cannot fail to touch the minds and spirits of all those who reach for it.

Professor S. Radhakrishnan (1888 – 1975) was a prominent philosopher, author and educationalist. He was equally at home in the European and Asiatic traditions of thought, and devoted an immense amount of energy to interpreting Indian religion, culture and philosophy for the rest of the world. He was a visiting professor at many foreign universities, and served as India’s Ambassador Extraordinary to the USSR from 1949 to 1952. He was elected to the office of vice-president of India in 1957. He became the President of India in 1962 and held this rank until 1967, when he retired from public life. He wrote a number of books for readers the world over. Some of his outstanding works are The Hindu View of Life, An Idealist View of Life and Indian Philosophy, Vols. I and II. He dedicated this translation to Mahatma Gandhi.